


In Which Iroh II is the Only Responsible Adult

by SGConGurl



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Azula Joins the Gaang (Avatar), Canonical Child Abuse, Gen, Happy Azula (Avatar), Happy Zuko (Avatar), I'm Sorry, Introducing Turtleduck the Sky Bison, Iroh II adopts ALL the kids!, Iroh II joins the GAang, Lu Ten lives, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Uncle Iroh doesn’t, Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-15 09:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29681880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SGConGurl/pseuds/SGConGurl
Summary: It was just supposed to be a quick visit to the Spirit World to meet his namesake. How was Iroh the Second, Son of Fire Lord Izumi, Prince of the Fire Nation, supposed to know that touching the images in the giant tree would send him nearly a hundred years into the past?  But now his grandfather is only three, sporting bruises and trying to take care of his infant sister because Iroh's Great Grandfather is an abusive monster, and Great Grandmother is bitter enough to neglect her own baby daughter.Well, with the Portals sealed Iroh can't go back to his own timeline, anyway. And as Prince of the Fire Nation and blood kin to the children in question,  honor demands nothing less than Iroh taking them away and raising them himself.
Comments: 74
Kudos: 167





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So there I was, trying to work on the next chapter of That's Logic when suddenly my muse started to act up:
> 
> Muse: Hey, remember Iroh II from Korra?
> 
> Me: Yeah?
> 
> Muse: He's a boss.
> 
> Me: I guess so, but we're supposed to be thinking about Transformers now.
> 
> Muse: What if he went back in time and rescued Baby!Zuko and Baby!Azula from Ozai and raised them as his own?
> 
> Me: What? No, we're not doing that. We're busy with something else right now.
> 
> Muse: And when Aang wakes up, Iroh II is like, "Oh, no, he's a baby!" and adopts him, too. And Toph.
> 
> Me: Can you please give me ideas for the story I'm already writing.
> 
> Muse: He also adopts Sokka and Katara because child abandonment is Not Good Dadding. So like, it's the Avatar series, but Zuko and Azula join the GAang from the start, and behind them is a forty year old master firebender with years of military experience, trying to incinerate anyone who looks at his kiddies funny.
> 
> Me:...
> 
> Muse:...
> 
> Me: ...Go on...

Prince Iroh the Second, Son of Fire Lord Izumi, Grandson of Fire Lord Zuko, had no memories of his namesake. While his Great-Great Uncle had in fact still been living in the mortal realm when he was born, Uncle Iroh had moved to the Spirit World by the time Prince Iroh was three.

All he knew of his namesake were stories told to him by his elders. Stories of a wise, kind old man who loved Pai Sho and Jasmine Tea. A man with a cunning mind, and a gentle heart. A powerful firebender who liberated Ba Sing Se in less than an hour with only three other men against an entire army.

Needless to say, Iroh had some pretty big shoes to fill in order to live up to his namesake. And he tried every day to be the kind of man Uncle would be proud of; honorable, just, fierce, and kind. 

When Avatar Korra opened the portals to the Spirit World Iroh got the idea to go there to visit with Uncle Iroh. Prince Iroh wished to meet him, to listen to the wisdom that his mother and grandfather valued so highly. They could spend some time in the Spirit World, just the two of them, like a vacation. 

But scarcely had Iroh had the thought before his Grandfather was traveling to the North Pole, and worrying about prison breaks and rushing to find Avatar Korra. Then Avatar Korra was gravely injured, so Iroh just decided to wait. The Portals weren't going anywhere after all, and there was just too much work to be done for him to leave his post for a sabbatical. And then Kuvira was taking over the Earth Kingdom, and Mother was so stressed. Iroh was busy trying to help defend Republic City, and it was certainly not time to take Spirit World vacations.

But now the world was at peace. The Fire Nation was prospering. And there was a convenient Spirit Portal less than two blocks away from the wedding he'd attended. (He didn't know the bride or the groom except by reputation, but Avatar Korra personally asked him to attend. Far be it from him to tell the Avatar no.) Iroh packed the supplies he would need and slipped away to the Spirit Portal in Republic City as soon as the after party had started.

Great Great Uncle Iroh was every bit as wise and friendly as the Prince had been told. He spent several days at Uncle's house as an honored guest. Uncle trounced him at Pai Sho. It was the first time Prince Iroh had lost that game in years.

Uncle always made sure his tea cup was filled the entire time. Don't get him wrong, Prince Iroh liked a good cup of Oolong as much as the next Fire National. (No one made Oolong tea as well as the Fire Nation, and that was a Fact.) But after three straight days of constant Jasmine Tea, it was starting to get a little old.

They spoke of many things, but somehow the topic of conversation eventually rested on the one person his Grandfather hardly ever talked about.

"Looking back, I am ashamed of the way I failed my niece," Uncle Iroh mused as he sipped his tea. "At the time I felt ill-equipped to deal with a girl child, particularly one as high strung as Azula. And I was blind to the fact that Ursa only saw her husband in her second born and punished her too harshly for it, driving the girl further into her father's grasp because of it."

"Lady Katara once told me that my great aunt was as insane as Ozai," Prince Iroh commented. Nobody in the Royal Family had claimed Ozai as kin since long before he had been born, and Prince Iroh certainly wasn't. "I asked Grandfather about her once, but he just looked unbearably sad and said she wasn't always that way. I never asked again."

"Fire Lord Zuko is the most honorable man I've ever met, but he often blames himself for crimes he did not commit," Uncle explained. "He did not understand the truth as a child. There was something wrong with my younger brother, even as a very small child. He was not only a liar and manipulative from the time he could speak, he was incapable of determining right from wrong, and he never felt remorse. He enjoyed hurting others, ignored his responsibilities, and didn't seem to grasp that doing dangerous things could harm him. Who he was at the end was the same as who he was in the beginning; a monster without shame or regret."

Prince Iroh shuddered at the thought of such a creature on the throne of his homeland, charged with leading his people. The Fire Nation was still trying to repair the reputation given to them by Sozin's line, but in a hundred years and three warring leaders, Ozai had caused the most damage in the least amount of time. Prince Iroh was just starting to comprehend how such a thing could be possible. 

"Azula was not the same. Ursa believed she was and treated her accordingly, but having grown up with Ozai I could see the difference. When she was very young my niece was much like her brother. But she was a prodigy and when she bent her first flame at barely three years old Ozai realized she was useful to him. But even as he molded her, Azula understood responsibility, and understood right and wrong enough that she felt shame for her actions. Azula believed she was a monster and the guilt of it drove her mad. Ozai never comprehended the idea that his actions had consequences to himself or others. He would not have cared if he had."

"If Azula knew she was behaving inappropriately, why didn't she stop?"

"She was a child. Her mother punished her for even genuine accidents, and assured both herself and Azula that something was wrong with her daughter and nothing could fix it. Her uncle was too foolish to realize her gender did not matter. Her grandfather was too busy to care about his grandchildren. The only one left was her father, who lied and manipulated and promised her his love only if she followed him in all things. What was she supposed to do?"

A somber silence followed, and Uncle seemed to retreat into himself. Iroh waited to see if Uncle would speak again, but the older man seemed lost to his memories. 

Speaking of such things had greatly affected Prince Iroh's mood, which was too bad because he wished he could have left Uncle on a brighter note. But he'd been gone for days, and while _technically_ he'd had permission to leave his post, he'd implied it would only be for one evening for a wedding, and not three days in the Spirit World.

Besides, the sky was getting dark. It felt like a storm was on the horizon. Prince Iroh stood and bowed to his Great-Great Uncle. "It was an honor to meet you, Iroh son of Azulon," he told his elder gravely, but Uncle seemed to not hear him.

That was concerning, but perhaps it was normal in the Spirit World. Prince Iroh wasn't a Fire Sage. The most he knew about the Spirits were memories of being a child and watching Grandfather rant that the Spirits were Out to Get Him, while Grandmother rolled her eyes and accused her husband of being Overly Emotional Again.

Iroh had pretty much spent his life ignoring the Spirits, and they in turn had ignored him. Both parties seemed satisfied with this arrangement. That didn't stop the dismay he felt when he finished his bow to see Uncle and his home had banished. He was now in a thick wood, and the sky was growing heavy with dark clouds. 

Iroh knew he needed to leave the Spirit World, or at least find shelter before the storm hit. He'd been at sea long enough to understand a dangerous storm from a minor squall, and this was shaping up to be a bad one. First things first, it would be easier to find an exit if he could find a path.

Thunder rolled and Iroh's pulse quickened as the wind started to pick up. This storm was shaping up to be as bad as the hurricanes that rocked the Home Islands and cause so much damage every few years.

He could find neither a path nor shelter, and worse, the trees disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, leaving him completely unprotected on a large plain. The rain started, coming down so fast and thick he could barely see his hand in front of his face. Lightning cracked, illuminating the area in front of him just enough for him to barely make out a large shape in the distance.

Iroh was genuinely worried about his chances of survival now, and the storm was getting even worse than before. He stumbled to the object, hoping it was something he could shelter in. 

It turned out to be an enormous tree, with a large hole in the bark. It was large enough for him to climb in, and deep enough to get him out of the weather. Iroh eagerly climbed in and breathed a sigh of relief now that his life was no longer in danger.

And of course the storm started to die down now that he was no longer in it. Iroh couldn't help but huff a laugh at the sheer irony of the situation. As the noise of the storm died down, Iroh's ears caught another sound. It was...a soft sniffle, quite close to him, in fact.

Iroh's brow furrowed. It almost sounded like a child's cry. Were there Spirit children? Spirits had to come from _somewhere,_ right? He wished for the first time he'd paid more attention to Sage Shyu when he had been teaching him. But Iroh distinctly remembered the man being as old as time and dry as paint, and he'd fall asleep during his own lectures. It was so much easier to sneak out of the lessons to go feed the turtleducks with Grandfather than to stay inside and try to wake the old fuddy duddy, Iroh remembered.

Now here he was, a forty year old man stuck in a giant tree in the Spirit World wondering if there were child Spirits or if that noise was some Dark Spirit's attempt to lure him to his doom. And to think he'd had the audacity to roll his eyes at his mother when she'd scolded him for playing hooky from his Spirit lessons. 

Still, Iroh couldn't just ignore what might be a child in need of help. So he turned, trying to pinpoint where the noise was coming from. His jaw dropped in amazement as he saw thousands of images in the inside of the tree.

Most of the images lasted only a second or two before fading away. He recognized a few--there was Avatar Kyoshi creating her island, and Avatar Roku laughing with Fire Lord Sozen. His grandfather, younger than Iroh had ever seen him, practically a child, becoming Fire Lord. Lord Sokka, outrageously drunk and loudly cheering at his sister's wedding to Avatar Aang. Iroh's older sister, staring in wide eyed awe as their mother introduced her to her new baby brother…

Moments in time, Iroh mused, as he watched each event flicker and die only for a new one to take its place. As he watched, however, he realized one of the images was not changing. Iroh furrowed his brow, trying to determine what was different about this image.

It was obviously somewhere in the Fire Nation, a noble's house, if the rich decor was any indication. Something about it tickled the back of Iroh's mind, but he'd been in so many noble houses, and the interior was always so similar, that the prince couldn't place it. He wasn't an interior decorator, okay, he was a Navy General.

But what truly incensed the Prince was the image of a young boy, surely no older than two or three, who stood sniffling in the middle of the image. His golden eyes were thick with unshed tears. And a large, handprint shaped bruise covered his cheek.

How _dare_ someone have the gall to strike a child. And worse, a Fire Nation child. As a Prince of the Fire Nation, that meant it was Iroh's direct responsibility to protect all his nation's children. This was **his** child, and when he found the noble who **dared** lift a hand against such a young subject of the Fire Nation, Iroh _would burn the honorless weasel-monkey to_ **_cinders_ **…

Iroh leaned forward, accidentally touching the image in his quest to observe more details so he could find and rescue the boy. There was a loud popping noise in his ears, and the world around him went dark.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys! 261 hits and forty kudos IN ONE DAY? Ya'll making me Blush.
> 
> So the only thing we know about Iroh II is that he's forty at the end of the series, his Mom is Fire Lord, Zuko is his grandfather, and he canonically has a sister young enough to date 22 year old Mako after the show ended. In order for this sister to not be some kind of Creepy Cougar, she has to be like, fifteen years younger than Iroh.
> 
> Add that to the fact that I want Iroh to feel confident enough about caring for children to adopt a bunch at the drop of a hat, but NOT have a wife and children of his own (that opens a Can of Worms I am not dealing with, thank you.) I have decided that Fire Lord Izumi and her husband are now the Fire Nation equivalent of the Waltons.
> 
> TL;DR: I arbitrarily decided Iroh has two brothers and five sisters, aged 44-25, the youngest of which he helped his mom raise. He also has several nieces and nephews to explain why he's so good with kids.

Azula was screaming again.

Prince Zuko had been excited when his mother had told him he would be getting a new baby brother. She had said Zuko would be the best big brother and help her take care of the baby. Zuko had never been the best at anything before. He was stupid and weak and disloyal because he couldn't make fire, Father said so. And if Father said so, it must be true.

Then the baby came and it wasn't a brother, it was a sister. And Azula was loud and screamed all the time, but Father never punished her like he did Zuko when he got upset and cried. But Zuko noticed Mother never hugged Azula like she hugged him, either, so maybe it was fair?

Something about that didn't quite seem right, but then again, Father  _ did _ say Zuko was stupid, so it must be right. But Azula never stopped crying, and Zuko could tell Mother was angry with her.

"How come she keeps screaming?" Zuko asked, peering down into the basket at the red-faced, loud creature that everyone assured him was his new sister.

"She's impossible," Mother told him, ruffling his hair fondly. "Nothing like you. You're such a good boy, Zuko."

Zuko beamed. He liked being a good boy for his mother. He wished he could be a good boy for his father, too, but he was too stupid to make fire. His mother caught sight of his cheek, which still ached from Father's last punishment, and frowned.

"Did your father do that?" She asked. She didn't sound happy anymore. Guilt squirmed in Zuko's stomach.

"He said to make sparks but I disobeyed him," Zuko confessed. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault, darling," Mother assured him, but she still left. Zuko knew she was going to find Father, and they would be very mad and not talk for days, and Father would be stricter and it was all his fault…

There was a loud thump, and a man came out of the ceiling and fell on the floor. Zuko gaped in astonishment, forgetting to feel guilty. Even Azula paused for a moment, before taking a deep breath and screaming harder than ever.

* * *

Consciousness returned slowly to Iroh the Second, and when it did, he wished it hadn't. What had he done last night? And why wasn't somebody tending to that shrieking baby?!

Something poked his cheek, and Iroh pried open his eyes to see a nervous-but-determined look that only a toddler can achieve on a young boy who was poking him in the face. The bruise on the child's face made Iroh remember everything, and he forced himself to get up.

"Are you a Spirit?" The boy asked with wide eyes.

Iroh found himself chuckling. "No little one, I'm not." A quick glance around the room revealed a bassinet with a  _ very  _ unhappy infant inside. There were no adults around.

"Then why are you here?" Now that he knew he wasn't dealing with a spirit, the boy was starting to look indignant. "Only family is allowed in this room!"

Iroh forced himself to his feet and started towards the bassinet, wobbling a little as he worked to regain his balance. "There, there, little one. What's the matter?"

"You didn't answer my question!"

"It's alright," Iroh assured him as he checked the girl's diaper and picked her up. He cuddled her close like he used to with his youngest sister when she was a baby. The girl whimpered, then calmed. She'd just wanted to be held. Iroh turned back to the boy who was staring at him in astonishment. "I'm Prince Iroh of the Fire Nation."

The boy's eyes got rounder. "You're my uncle?" he asked.

Iroh frowned. He did have several nieces and nephews (having seven siblings and all) but he'd met each of them and the boy was unfamiliar to him. Plus, no one in the royal family would have allowed the bruise that was stark on the boy's cheek. Iroh spied a few more under the boy's sleeves.

"What's your name, little one?" Iroh asked the boy gently.

The child straightened and launched into an obviously rehearsed speech. "I'm Zuko, son of Prince Ozai and Lady Ursa, Prince of the Fire Nation!"

Oh, cinders.

* * *

Uncle Iroh went very still and closed his eyes for the moment. But then he opened them and smiled at Zuko. He looked so kind and pleased to meet him that Zuko couldn't help but feel happy.

Even though Zuko was now a big three-year-old, he didn't actually remember meeting his uncle before. Mother said he had, that when he was very little Uncle Iroh and cousin Lu Ten had gone to Ember Island with himself and Mother and Father, and they'd made a sandcastle with him. Zuko sometimes thought he could remember, a little, but Uncle Iroh looked nothing like he did in that foggy, hazy memory, so maybe he didn't remember after all.

But he looked good, and gentle, and somehow, he'd made Azula stop crying, so Zuko decided he liked Uncle Iroh. Zuko leaned in closer to him, and inspected his now-quiet sister. She was sucking her thumb, and now that she wasn't crying and making Mother unhappy, she didn't seem so bad.

"How did you make her stop? Mother said she's impossible."

Uncle Iroh seemed to frown, but it was gone so fast Zuko wasn't sure it was really there in the first place. Then he leaned close and lowered his voice. "Do you really want to know the secret?" he whispered.

Zuko's eyes widened in delight. He loved it when people told him secrets! They hardly ever did, and he always felt so big and important when it happened. "Yes, please!"

Uncle Iroh smiled, and looked around to make sure nobody was spying on them. Then he said, "I  _ love _ impossible things. Don't you?"

Zuko considered this as he watched his impossible sister. She was falling asleep now, a small smile on her face. Zuko smiled back. "Yes," he decided. Azula was impossible, and he loved impossible things a lot.

"I'm glad," Uncle Iroh told him.

* * *

Agni. Agni, Iroh had gone back in time.  _ How  _ had he gone back in time? The tree? If he touched it again, would it put him back where he belonged? How would he even get to the tree, the portals wouldn't be open for another eighty years! He didn't know how to get to the Spirit World without the portals! And even if he did, it would only be his spirit, not his body there. 

And his grandfather was an abused kid. He knew that already, of course, but he hadn't really  _ known _ that. His grandfather was stronger and larger than life; even with the evidence literally printed on Grandfather's face, the fact hadn't truly been  _ real _ to Iroh, not until now.

And as for his Great Aunt, well...who lets a baby scream their lungs out when all you had to do to fix it was hold her for a couple of minutes? His great grandparents were  _ messed up _ . And sure, Zuko becomes the greatest Fire Lord in the history of their Nation, but not before Ozai burns half his face off…

_ Oh, Agni, Ozai was going to burn off this child's face!!! _

Iroh closed his eyes and swallowed the bile that had come up unbidden. He opened them again and watched Zuko, who was staring at his sister with a look of utter brotherly devotion.

And while the future was good to his grandfather (eventually) Iroh couldn't say the same of Azula. The best that could be said of her was his Grandfather's comment that she had seemed more stable the last time they had met. You know, while he was thwarting her schemes to kidnap children and become the power behind Grandfather's throne. 

"But," Grandfather had added, sounding hopeful, "She wasn't ranting that Mother was trying to destroy her and shooting lightning at random trees and air anymore, so she really was doing better." Nobody had seen her since before Iroh was born. Nobody knew if she had finally found peace, or if she was dead in a gutter somewhere. Most likely, nobody ever would.

_ She wasn't always crazy. _ Iroh thought as he rocked the sleeping infant.  _ Not until Ozai realized she was useful to him.  _ Not for another three years. But Zuko was already covered in bruises. Azula was already screaming for help and being ignored.

But now Iroh was here. Iroh couldn't go back. Iroh was Prince of the Fire Nation and honor bound to protect its children. And Iroh was kin by blood to the children in question.

"Zuko," Iroh called almost before the idea fully formed in his mind. "Would you and Azula like to go see a secret herd of Sky Bison with me? A special trip, just for us."

Zuko couldn't believe his ears. His nanny had told him stories of Sky Bison, how they flew through the air before the evil Air Army got them all killed when they attacked the Fire Nation and Fire Lord Sozin had to defend his people. Zuko had felt very sad that the animals were all dead. It wasn't their fault that bad people owned them.

But now Uncle Iroh said they  _ weren't  _ all dead, that there were  _ secret _ Sky Bison, an Uncle was going to show them to Zuko! On a special trip, even! This was the best day, ever! 

"Yes, Uncle, please!" Zuko cried in excitement, clapping his hands. Azula whined at him in her sleep. "Sorry, Azula," he whispered. 

Uncle Iroh chuckled. "It's going to be a long trip, so let's get some clothes for the two of you and we'll head out right away." He moved Azula so she was held in only one arm and offered his free hand to Zuko. The boy eagerly latched on and skipped out of the room to go get his suitcase.

This was going to be the best trip ever!

* * *

It should not be this easy for a man nobody knew to take two royal children and a suitcase full of their clothes out of the palace. Iroh didn't remember security being this lax in his time. Of course, Fire Lord Zuko had also had fifteen assassination attempts in his first six months alone, one of which was actually due to a  _ misunderstanding  _ of all things. So maybe it made sense that the guard wasn't as alert in the past…

No, Iroh decided as he literally walked out the front gate. The guard didn't even glance at the children before he was letting Iroh go about his business. This was sheer negligence, and what would have happened if someone  _ without  _ his brand new niece and nephew's best interests at heart had taken them? (And they _ were _ his niece and nephew now. Iroh was claiming them. He'd fight anybody who said different.)

And maybe it was silly to be upset that nobody was trying to fight him, but he was. Iroh had grown up in a Fire Nation with a leader who cared about its people. Walking through the streets of the capital city, he could see the difference it made. The people in this time had lived two lifetimes under Fire Lord's who only cared about them in terms of a body count to make their armies bigger and their taxes higher. They were overworked, underpaid, and dying in droves to fulfill the petty ambitions of greedy men who were too selfish to do their duty towards their own subjects. The commoners of the Fire Nation could honestly care less if their leaders were assassinated or not.

And because of the war, nearly all the palace guards were commoners pressed into service because they weren't rich enough or noble enough to avoid the draft. It physically hurt Iroh to actually see the damage the 100 year war had done to his nation. And worse was the knowledge that they were  _ winning _ , that this despair, poverty, and desolated Fire Nation was literally the best off nation currently on the planet. And Iroh knew there was nothing he could do to fix it. 

Well, not yet, anyway. Avatar Aang would awaken...soonish…(So maybe he had paid the same amount of attention in history as he had in his Spirit classes. He's a fighter, not a scholar, okay.) He knew his Grandfather was a teenager at the time, so definitely not too awful long from now, at least.

Iroh would hide Prince Zuko and Princess Azula, and teach them all they needed to know about how to rule justly and honorably. Just as his grandfather and mother had taught him and all his siblings.

"Nobody expected me to be the next Fire Lord," Grandfather had explained as he ensured all eight of his grandchildren attended those lessons. "So I had no idea what I was doing when the time came. Nobody knows the future, and it's better to have knowledge and not need it than need it and not have it, after all!"

Grandfather's wisdom paid off again. Iroh wasn't going to be the Fire Lord, but he  _ was _ going to raise one, and now he had the knowledge to teach them both how to be a good one. 

But first, a trip to Bhanti Island. The fastest and safest way off the Home Islands was on a Flying Bison. He had a nephew who was practically champing at the bit to see one, anyway.

  
  



	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my favorite scenes in Korra is when she asks Iroh II to help her free the South. It takes Iroh less than two seconds to come up with a good plan that let him defy orders, destroy the blockade, and falsify reports to paint himself as the victim in the scenario. It was such an Azula plan that I just had to gawk. Even better was when the President showed up and gave Iroh orders that heavily implied this was not the first time Iroh had pulled stunts like that.
> 
> So yes, Iroh II is canonically more cunning, manipulative, and a much better liar than Zuko. Not that that's hard. "You'll never believe what happened. Uh...Uncle, tell him what happened!"

Iroh knew he had to get out of Caldera City, and fast. He'd been incredibly Spirits-Blessed lucky so far, but sooner or later someone was going to notice two very young members of the Royal Family was not where they were supposed to be. And when that happened, Iroh knew the soldiers would no longer be so ambivalent about an unknown man with two small children walking around.

To make matters worse, Azula had woken up, and Iroh had realized he was dealing with a very unhappy and colicky baby, which...might actually explain the 'just ignore the screaming infant' thing he'd shown up to see. Oh, well. History had already proved Iroh was totally doing the right thing, anyway.

Also, Zuko had no concept of either Shame nor Stranger Danger, and was loudly explaining to everyone who would listen that Azula always screamed because she was Impossible. Iroh was getting Disapproving Looks from all sorts of people. People that would have no problems pointing him out to soldiers asking about kidnappers.

Which was why Iroh was at the docks, trying to convince a very unimpressed fisherman to sell him his boat. Passenger manifests were just too risky. Unfortunately the only currency Iroh currently had on him was Republic City coin, and said fisherman wasn't amused.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" The man asked in disgust.

"It's gold," Iroh pointed out, because it  _ was _ gold _.  _

"It's useless," the fisherman shot back.

"You can't say no to a Prince of the Fire Nation like that," Zuko spat, his little body trembling in righteous fury. "My grandfather is the Fire Lord, and I  _ order _ you to give me this ship!"

Oh,  _ burn  _ it all to  _ Koh!!! _

Iroh knew he had to work fast before the fisherman really processed that information. Even if he dismissed Zuko's claim now, he wouldn't when the palace started searching for missing royalty. He straightened into a military stance, and channeled his best 'I am your superior officer and you  **will** do as I say, or you will Scrub this entire ship down with a paintbrush and  _ then  _ you will do as I say' face. He'd had years to practice it, and he could see the fisherman take notice of the change. 

"I am Captain Li of Fire Lord Azulon's personnel guard. As you can no doubt see, some traitorous wretch has dared to attack our great and glorious leader's grandchildren in his own palace. Our wise Fire Lord has learned that some of our own nobles are masterminding this cowardly plot, and they have corrupted even members of our own army to help in their wicked deeds. I have been charged to take our beloved Prince Zuko and lovely Princess Azula to safety until our undefeatable ruler can find all the traitors and burn them into ashes."

The fisherman's face grew steadily paler the longer Iroh weaved his tale. 

"You're not Captain Li, you're my uncle!" Zuko protested, as he continued to be unhelpful. 

Luckily, Iroh had always been good at spinning tales on the fly. Though normally, he only used the talent to entertain his nephews and nieces with outrageous made up stories around campfires. And assure them that of course it made sense for a Wendigo to have two heads, Ryuji, how else can it eat while it endlessly wails?

His sister Anzu still wouldn't talk to him because of that one. How was he supposed to know he'd give his nephew nightmares for six months?! None of the other kids got nightmares from that story!

But at least the skill was coming in handy now, as he gave Zuko a beaming smile. With just a  _ hint _ of condescension in his voice, he made his reply bright and cheery. "That's right, little one! We are a completely  _ normal, common family _ . We just want to go on vacation now, don't we?"

As he'd intended, Zuko completely missed the subtext of his tone, and the fisherman didn't. The child nodded eagerly. "We're going to see the Flying Bison!" 

Iroh turned back to the fisherman and made a point of rolling his eyes. Azula had screamed continuously through Iroh's entire story. The fisherman looked kind of sick.

"I  _ trust _ you are a good, loyal citizen who knows to keep his mouth shut when traitorous pig-curs start asking questions about missing princes and princesses?" Iroh asked him sternly.

"O-of course! Here, just take the boat! Anything to help our illustrious Fire Lord," the man spluttered.

Iroh helped Zuko climb into the boat, then got in himself. He handed the fisherman his purse. "I know it's not official currency, but I swear on my honor that it is truly gold. Take it, melt it down, and buy a new boat. No true Fire Lord wants his people to go destitute while showing his family such loyalty."

The fisherman took the pouch and bowed. "May Agni's light shine on the Fire Lord and his family," he said and left the dock.

Iroh wasted no time in setting sail. It was a bit tricky when his only help was a three year old and a screaming infant, but he managed. Soon enough, they were underway. He tried to soothe Azula again to no avail.

For a while, the only noise on the ship came from the unhappy baby. Finally though, Zuko popped up. "That was a weird story you told the peasant," he commented.

"Don't call people peasants; it's not nice," Iroh informed him. "And if you think that story was weird, you should hear the Tale of the Two-Headed Wendigo that Wails in the Night."

* * *

After forty years of living, Iroh had long since ceased being surprised at the fact that the Fire Sages always knew everything. So he didn't even blink when he saw that the Bhanti had already gathered diapers and a small chicken-goat to produce milk for Azula, as well as lunch for himself and Zuko.

The Shaman of the Bhanti, eighty years younger but just as wise, bowed the Iroh. "You've had a long journey," she told him. "And you have questions."

"Can we see the Flying Bison now?" Zuko piped up, practically vibrating beside Iroh as he dutifully ate a papaya. There was juice all over his face, arms, and shirt. His hair was suspiciously sticky looking, as well.

One of the sages bowed to the young Prince. "I am Karu," he introduced himself. "The herd is this way, young one."

Zuko nearly bowled three sages over in his eagerness to get to the Bison, muttering a half-hearted sorry before he finally ran off.

"He's been really excited about seeing your herd," Iroh explained apologetically. The Shaman waved him off.

"Ask your questions, Fire Prince," she told him.

"Do you know what happened to me?" Iroh asked her.

The Shaman hummed and stirred a cup of tea. "You went where you should not have gone and touched what you should not have touched," she remarked dryly.

"I kind of figured that out myself, thanks," Iroh snarked back. The Shaman huffed and rapped his knuckles with her tea spoon.

"Ow!" Iroh hissed.

"You claim to know, so you do not listen!" The Shaman rebuked him sternly. "Sozin's line has ever been thus!"

Feeling properly chastised, Iroh bowed his head in apology. The Shaman huffed and drank her tea. 

"I suppose you know that I am from the future," Iroh continued somewhat sheepishly. "I can't think of a way back with the Spirit Portals sealed, but do you…"

But the Shaman was already shaking her head. "What was never will be again. You cannot go back, only forward."

Iroh sighed, that figured. But the way she said that sounded like…"Wait, are you saying my future  _ will never happen?" _ He asked, panicked.

"It is not for any mortal to know the fate of the future," the Shaman replied. "For the future is ever changing, and change is the fate of man. A single grain of rice can cause ripples in an ocean." She poked Iroh in the chest with her spoon. "A single man can reroute the course of fate."

Iroh frowned, struggling to come to grips with the idea that everything he knew could be gone forever. "But if the future I'm from no longer exists, shouldn't I…no longer exist?" 

The Shaman hummed thoughtfully. Then she reached up and slapped him across the face so hard Iroh nearly ended up in his food. "Hey!" He yelped.

"Your existence is established," she informed him. "That is enough. Some questions cannot be answered."

Iroh bit his tongue to keep from yelling and rubbed his cheek. Sages were crazy.

* * *

Sky Bison were so fluffy!!!

Zuko couldn't help but squeal as he saw the heard of six-legged beasts. There were  _ so many _ ! He loved them so much!

Zuko spent the next few minutes trying to hug as many Bison as possible. They didn't seem to care much until one of them realized Zuko was covered in papaya juice. Then they all started licking him with their enormous tongues. It ticked, and Zuko laughed.

Eventually, though, the Bison got tired of this and wandered off. Zuko was still hungry though, so he asked Sage Karu for a snack. The man gave him an apple and told him to enjoy himself.

Zuko sat under a tree and took a big bite of the apple. It was sweet and juicy, and he hummed as he chewed it. A soft lowing caught his ear, and he turned to find it.

One of the Bison was trying to sneak up on him. It was smaller than the other Bison, but not by much. Its fur looked much like any other Bison, except it had two brown circles around its eyes. Eyes that were currently focused on Zuko's apple.

Zuko giggled at how determined the Bison looked, and held the apple out to it. It sucked the apple into its mouth, swallowed it, and then nuzzled Zuko's body with its head. Zuko hugged it back.

Zuko loved Flying Bison. 

* * *

"What do you mean you won't let me take a bison?" There was steam literally coming from Iroh's ears as he fought to keep his temper under control. The reason he came to this island in the first place was because having a Sky Bison was the fastest and safest way to leave the Home Islands!

The Shaman looked particularly unimpressed with Iroh's display. "The Bhanti protect this Bison herd as  _ penance  _ for the unspeakable evil the Fire Nation has done to the Air Nomads. We will not compound this wickedness by stealing their cherished companions for Fire Nationals to use. Your request is denied."

Iroh opened his mouth to try to reason with her, but before he could, Karu rushed back into the room, babbling about problems and a thousand apologies. The Shaman rose to tend to the matter, and Iroh felt a headache coming on.

What had Zuko done  _ now? _

* * *

Sky Bison weren’t sentient as humans thought of the term, but there was an intelligence there, a knowing, passed down from mother to cub since the dawn of time. No one needed to tame a Bison, not truly. The Sky Bison were Friends to those that danced on the wind. This friendship was Chosen by the Bison, was sealed with a Gift, and it was for Life.

But humans no longer danced in the sky, not since before her mother's mother's time. Oh, there were still humans, but they were stern, boring things. No Bison wanted to befriend  _ that.  _

She had lived on this island all her life. Oh, sometimes she wished to go elsewhere, but all Bison knew in their bones that there were no more Sky People, and without a Chosen, what even was the point?

When the little human came, most of the Bison ignored him. There was fire, not air, in his soul. Not a Sky Child. But she looked more closely. Why pine for a Sky Child that would never come when there was a perfectly good child right here for the taking?

She wasn't big and strong like the other Sky Bison. He wasn't the Child of Air all Bison longed for. But she was clever and loyal, and he was good and innocent and happy. So when he offered her a Gift, she took it. And when the other people tried to make her leave him, she refused.

For a Sky Bison was a companion for Life.

* * *

All told, Iroh was pretty satisfied with how things had turned out. Zuko had been enraptured when the Shaman had begrudgingly admitted that the Bison he'd befriended was going to leave with him whether the Sages wanted her to or not. And sure, none of them were allowed to set foot on the island again, but who'd ever want to go back? Iroh got the Bison he'd needed, and that's what mattered. Granted, he hadn't wanted to keep it, it was going to draw all sorts of attention, but still. This was a victory. He was going to take it.

"I'm gonna name her Turtleduck!" Zuko happily informed him.

Azula woke up and started screaming.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate Title is: No, I'm not sorry and I'd do it again.

Lu Ten was thirteen the day his cousins were stolen from his family. He would always remember the numb fear he'd felt when Aunt Ursa had begun screaming in baby Azula's nursery. A quick search of the palace revealed that his older cousin was missing, too. 

This was almost inconceivable for the young teenager to comprehend. He had seen Zuko  _ this morning! _ His cousin had come toddling after him just after they'd finished breakfast, begging him to go play toy soldiers with him. But Lu Ten felt he was too old to play such baby games, and had rudely told Zuko to go away. 

Zuko had burst into tears, and Lu Ten had felt really bad. But Uncle Ozai had assured him that he'd done nothing wrong, Zuko was just too overly sensitive. It was probably better for Zuko to train instead of playing silly games, anyway, Uncle inisted. He'd led the still-sobbing toddler away.

And now Zuko was gone, too.

When she learned this, Aunt Ursa swooned. Everyone knew that. But what they didn't know was what she murmured when she woke moments later, her eyes still glassy and vague. Lu Ten himself only heard because he was so close to her.

"He's killed them," his aunt had whispered. "That monster murdered them both."

If the thought that someone had stolen his baby cousins away from him was terrifying, the idea that they were  _ dead _ was too horrible for Lu Ten to even contemplate. "Who, Aunt?" He asked in horror.

But Aunt Ursa just blinked at him, as if just realizing he was there. Then she pursed her lips and refused to say another word.

In fact, Lu Ten clearly remembered she wouldn't speak to anyone at all for six months.

That night at dinner, Aunt Ursa didn't bother to show up. The atmosphere was stifling and depressive. Even Father was somber and silent, when before he always laughed and joked and made up silly little proverbs. The sick pit in Lu Ten's stomach felt deeper by the second.

In the long years that followed, Lu Ten never stopped regretting his refusal to play toy soldiers with Zuko that day.

* * *

In two different lifetimes, Azula's earliest memory was the day she bent fire for the first time. In both, she had looked at the little sparkles her hands made in wonder before she rushed off to show her Zuzu the pretty trick.

In the world that was, Zuko had suffered over five years of abuse at the hand of a father who despised the fact that his firstborn was too weak to show any signs of bending. The sight of his baby sister shooting sparks brought nothing but bitter shame, and he yelled at her and pushed her over. 

Azula never forgave, and it was the beginning of a rift that tore them apart.

In this new world, Iroh the Second had spent two years undoing Ozai's damage by telling Zuko stories of great non-benders like Sokka the Wise and Commander Bumi of the Second Division, and how one didn't need to be a bender to be brave, strong, and worthy of respect. So when Azula showed him her trick he felt nothing but pride for his Impossible baby sister, and laughed and clapped and said she was special.

Azula never forgot, and it was the beginning of a bond that would be as thick and unbending as steel.

* * *

Within days of the kidnapping, reports started coming of people seeing a man with two children young enough to be the lost prince and princess in the Earth Kingdom. They said he had a Sky Bison.

At first, Father had scoffed at the reports, and said they should court marshal their lookouts for drinking on duty. "The Sky Bison are as dead as the Air Nomads!" He declared. "And there is no way for kidnappers to get from Caldera City to the Earth Kingdom in less than a week."

But the reports kept coming in, slowly, erratically. Some reports showed the Bison in two or three different locations at once. Others claimed it could fly impossibly far distances in ludicrously small increments of time. But they always reported a man, two small children, and a Sky Bison. 

Lu Ten was fourteen when Fire Lord Azulon decreed that the Avatar had returned and stolen members of the royal lineage. Lu Ten hated the Avatar with all his being for what he'd done to his family. But at least now he knew his cousins were alive.

That meant he could still get them back.

* * *

Azula was five when her brother finally bent flame for the first time. They were in a forest and he accidentally burned a tree a little bit. (They often camped in forests. Uncle said they were safer than towns, though he never explained why.) Her brother had stared at the tree, then his own hands. And then he burst promptly into tears, because if he was a bender he couldn't grow up to become a Kyoshi Warrior. 

"You couldn't be a Kyoshi Warrior anyway, Zuzu!" Azula informed him. "They're all girls, Dum-Dum!"

For some reason, that made Zuzu even more upset, which was the opposite of what she wanted. Ugg, why was her Zuzu such a Dum-Dum?

Uncle Iroh looked at the sky and sighed. He did that an awful lot, these days. But then he sat down and motioned for the two of them to come to him. The two of them obediently sat on his lap, which seemed much smaller now that she was getting to be such a big girl. But they still fit, and Uncle cuddled them close.

"Remember that calling names is not nice, Azula," he started gently. "You're a good, clever girl, and you're better than that." 

Azula squirmed. She hated being scolded. "Sorry, Zuzu," she murmured. 

Zuzu wiped his eyes. "S'ok," he told her.

"And Zuko, if you really want to be a Kyoshi Warrior, I have no doubt you can accomplish that goal. If you put your mind to it, the both of you can accomplish anything."

"But I'm an ashmaker!" Zuko protested. "Everybody knows ashmakers are only good for burning stuff down."

Uncle Iroh stiffened. "Don't ever call yourself that again," he said sternly. "Or anybody else, for that matter. It's a very rude thing to say. And who is 'everybody'? Azula and I are firebenders, too. Are we only good for burning things?"

Zuko shook his head. "No, but you're the best ever and Azula is Impossible, so she can be a Good firebender if she wants."

"That's right! I can do anything I want!" Azula crowed, perking up.

"No, you can't stay up past your bedtime, Azula," Uncle informed her without missing a beat. Azula wilted. How had he known that's what she wanted to do? Why did stupid Uncle have to know everything?

Uncle turned back to Zuko. "Nephew,  _ listen to me.  _ Being a good person  _ and  _ a firebender is not impossible."

"But how do you  _ know _ ?" Zuko asked. "We always run from the Fire Nation when they come. The soldiers are so mean! What if you and Lala really are just special?"

"Because you are a good person, Zuko," Uncle told him. "And you are a firebender."

"Yeah, Zuzu, you're such a goody-goody!" Azula assured him, though frankly, she didn't see what was so great about that. Especially when he tattled on her to Uncle.

"I think perhaps we should all practice our breathing exercises today," Uncle continued, and Azula groaned. Breathing exercises were so  _ boring _ . She caught Zuko's eyes as Uncle continued. "Remember, fire is life, and comes from the breath!" Both children mouthed the words along with their uncle. Zuzu grinned at her.

At least he wasn't being a Dum-Dum anymore.

* * *

Lu Ten is sixteen when he first hears the rumors. They incense him and he rushes to his Father. "Did you know what people are saying?" He asks the moment he reaches his father's office.

"About what, my son?" His father asked him calmly.

"They're saying that there is no Avatar, and Grandfather made up the Bison sightings to cover up the fact that Uncle  _ murdered his own children!  _ How could anyone think something so horrible?! Can't they see how much Aunt Ursa and Uncle Ozai love and miss their children? They can't even bear to have more children, even with the sages encouraging them to for the sake of the dynasty!"

Privately, Iroh, Dragon of the West, thought there was a very different reason Ozai had decreed no more children. He often wondered what Ursa had offered to her husband to make such a stance worth his while. And he also thought the rumors of Ozai commiting infanticide were much more realistic than the one of a man who hadn't been seen in nearly a hundred years showing up out of nowhere, stealing two children, and then vanishing again. But he would never explain this to his son. Lu Ten was nearly a man, now, but Iroh still wished to protect him from as much of the world's darkness as he could.

Instead, he said nothing and let his son's righteous indignation wash over him. Lu Ten was in fine form today; it took nearly twenty minutes before he finally began winding down.

Finally, though, Lu Ten collapsed into a nearby chair. He looked at his father with such naked  _ trust  _ it took the man's breath away.

"Uncle Ozai would never have done such a thing," Lu Ten assured him. "And my cousins aren't dead. The Avatar took them, but we can still rescue them right, Father?"

"Of course your uncle would never harm his own family," Iroh lied. There was much darkness in the world he wished to shield from his son. "And we must never give up hope that your cousins will be returned to us. Hope is all we have."

Lu Ten smiled brightly. "Thank you, Father. That's why I wanted to talk to you. I know we both wanted me to follow in your footsteps and join the military, but I think it is my responsibility to hunt down the Avatar and stop him. He's the biggest threat to our nation, and I can also rescue Zuko and Azula. I...I hope you're not disappointed in me…"

"I could never be disappointed in you, my son," Iroh assured him. And this time, he spoke only the truth.

* * *

Azula was seven when the news that General Iroh, the Dragon of the West, had been killed after a six hundred day siege at Ba Sing Se. The news meant nothing to her and Zuko, except that the street vendors in Omashu were so happy they gave them free sweets all day.

Uncle was oddly grave and somber, though. Zuzu picked up on it and asked what was wrong. Zuko was better with mushy feelings than her. She was better at everything else, of course, but she supposed it was fair that Zuko got to be good at  _ some  _ things, too. 

"What's wrong, Uncle?" Zuko asked him. Uncle smiled at him, still looking a little sad.

"I just got the news today that a family member who loved us all very much has just passed away," he said. "I'm a bit sad he died, that's all." Zuko predictably looked stricken at the news and started comforting Uncle. Azula was too preoccupied with the idea that Uncle and Zuko weren't her only relatives to worry about silly things like that.

She had another family member that loved her?  _ Since when?!  _ If this so-called loving relative cared about her and Zuko and Uncle, then why hadn't they been here? You don't leave the people you love. She  _ hated _ this dead relative for leaving them and then making her uncle, who  _ actually  _ loved her, feel sad. 

"I'm  _ glad  _ he's dead!" She told her family. Zuko gawked at her.

"How can you say that?" He asked, sounding appalled. It was like he thought there was something wrong with her, and that made her feel worse. This was all Dead Relative's fault. She hoped it hurt a _ lot  _ when he died.

"He obviously never cared about us," she pointed out. "Otherwise he would have been with us. So I don't see why we should care about him. It's stupid to cry over him, so  _ there."  _ And having made her point, Azula turned and ran back to their campsite and Turtleduck outside the city, ignoring her uncle when he called for her to come back.

* * *

Lu Ten was three weeks away from turning twenty when Lieutenant Jee brought him the messenger hawk that bore a scroll telling him of his father's death. By the time the  _ Wani _ made it back to the Fire Nation, his grandfather had passed away in his sleep from the grief of losing his first born.

Lu Ten felt numb as his Uncle greeted him. Ozai had taken over many of the Fire Lord's duties while Lu Ten was gone, and trying to prepare for the funerals of his father and brother as well. But he still made it a point to ask about Lu Ten's self imposed quest to find the Avatar. It warmed Lu Ten's heart to know he wasn't the only one who hadn't lost hope that Zuko and Azula could be saved. 

"I'm not giving up, Uncle. I swear it," Lu Ten assured him.

"I know, nephew. It warms my heart to know you'll never stop looking for my children. That's why Father bequeathed the throne to me after all, so you can continue your quest, not as a slight on your abilities to rule. But as the firstborn of my father's firstborn, you  _ do  _ have a right to it…"

Lu Ten swallowed. The numbness was wearing off, and the grief threatened to swallow him whole. Father was gone. Grandfather was gone. But Zuko and Azula might not be.

Hope was all he had.

"Don't worry, Uncle. I'll be happy to abdicate my right to the throne in front of the sages. You're older and more experienced in such matters, and I can't bear to think of ruling the Fire Nation when my cousins are in the hands of the monster who took them. I will never stop searching until I've found the Avatar."

Ozai smiled.

* * *

Ten years after Iroh II adopt-stole his niece and nephew, the Fire Nation took control of the town of Gaipan. Normally this wouldn't have meant much to Iroh; the Fire Nation took and lost towns in the Earth Kingdom everyday. But today Iroh cared, because he and his family happened to be  _ in  _ Gaipan at the time.

Iroh made sure to keep his head down.  The brown hooded cloak he'd bought some time ago to help hide his obviously-Fire National features was once again coming in handy. His hand fell to the rapier he kept at his side. It was never a good idea to firebend in an Earth Kingdom town. They had a nasty habit of crushing firebenders' hands and then lynching them. 

Beside him, thirteen-year-old Zuko clutched his Dao blades. He wasn't good with them, yet, but Iroh could already tell he'd be a natural. Azula, at ten, was old enough to know firebending was too dangerous here (these towns also had a nasty habit of Not Caring About Age) and was realizing how vulnerable she was. Maybe she'd finally listen to Iroh and learn how to use a weapon now instead of just relying on her bending. 

The soldiers had gathered all the people together and the commanding officer was currently giving a Long Speech about how Things Were Going to Be Now. An elderly lady near the front of the crowd sneezed.

In a display of casual cruelty that still shocked Iroh even after ten years of witnessing such acts, the commander yanked the woman out of the crowd so hard that Iroh, who was towards the back, could clearly hear her arm snap. The elder screamed as the commander threw her on the ground and reared back to kick her.

"Leave her alone!" ordered the unmistakable voice of a thirteen-year-old Iroh knew well, and  _ how had Zuko snuck past all these people _ !? Iroh frantically started trying to maneuver around the crowd so he could save his brave, honorable, incredibly stupid nephew before he got himself killed.

By now, everyone was staring at Zuko, who was trembling with Righteous Fury. He glared at the Fire Nation Commander, completely unafraid.

"What did you say to me, boy?"

"I told you to leave that old woman alone," Zuko repeated. "She's done nothing to you. You're just an honorless  _ coward  _ who beats up old ladies."

The commander flushed red, and Iroh redoubled his efforts to get through the crowd.

The commander stepped up next to Zuko and started to laugh. "Looks like this little street urchin could use a lesson in respect," he called towards his men. He smiled down at Zuko, and patted his head. Then he lit his hand on fire and shoved it in the boy's face.

In another world, Azula saw her brother burn and she smiled. In this one, she saw her brother burn and she  _ screamed. _

There was nothing but the white-hot fury of  _ hatred  _ consuming her. Hatred for the stupid Fire Nation that couldn't leave people be. Hatred for the stupid Earth Kingdom that took away her brother's best defense with their intolerance. Hatred for this whole war that was endangering her family.

But most of all, hatred for this piece of human  _ slime _ that dared to touch Azula's Zuzu.

" **_Get away from him!!!"_ ** She shrieked so loudly that future storytellers swore she wasn't a human at all; but a fire demon, eyes flashing with the unearthly glow given to them by the bright blue flames that towered from her fists.

This was the last sight the man who touched her brother ever saw.

* * *

For a moment, the sheer horror of what he was witnessing caused General Iroh the Second to freeze. But then that moment ended, and he was a whirlwind of fire and fury, bringing his wrath indiscriminately against all who opposed him.

"Azula, call Turtleduck!" He ordered his niece.

Azula ignored her, her flames, which had gone blue for the first time, rising hotter and higher. Tears were streaming from her eyes, but she was laughing.

"Azula!!"

This time, he got through to her, and she pulled a Bison Whistle from her pocket. She blew into it, and Turtleduck charged into the square.

"Get on," Iroh yelled as he unleashed a wave of flame that forced their attackers back. He grabbed Zuko and jumped on the Bison's back.

"Turtleduck, yip, yip!" He roared, and the Bison took off.

Once they were safely away, Iroh checked for his nephew's pulse. It was there, and strong. Bile rose in his throat as he saw an all-too-familiar burn mark on Zuko's face. Next to him, his sister rocked herself back and forth, doing an odd combination of sobbing and giggling, as she stared vacantly into the distance. 

For the first time, Iroh wondered if he had changed anything at all.

* * *

Lu Ten was twenty-six and had spent ten years chasing fairy tales when the South Pole's skies lit up and a beam of light shot into the heavens.

"Finally," he whispered, and set a course.  
  



End file.
